As ANAKBAYAN today joined other youth groups in an indignation rally to Mendiola, this was how ANAKBAYAN chairperson Ken Ramos described those who are railroading the passage of House Resolution 1109 before the House suspends its session on June 5.

According to Ramos, the passing HR 1109 and the changing of the Philippine Constitution has a simple objective: to protect Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from criminal cases awaiting her once her term expires on June 2010.

“Arroyo and her allies can’t ‘quit’ their addiction to power. Without it, they will not be able to protect GMA from prosecution in the same way they blocked all impeachment complaints against her. Short of declaring Martial Law, this is her last chance” said Ramos.

“ChaCha offers many routes to protect Arroyo. One, she could be elected as Prime Minister if our form of government is changed to parliamentary and she runs for Congress in her home province of Pampanga. Two, they could remove the passage restricting her from running for a third term. Three, she could have her term extended by serving as an ‘interim president’ to guide us with our new constitution” he explained.

Meanwhile, Ramos slammed the misguided set of priorities shown by the Congress in railroading HR 1109”.

“Ibang klase” was how Ramos described the June 2 session which lasted until midnight, “You couldn’t get them to attend deliberations on bills the people are clamoring for, such as the Three Year Tuition Increase Moratorium, P125 Wage Hike, and Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill. Pero dahil HR 1109 ang nakasalang, full-house bigla!”.

Ramos called on to the youth to join and initiate protest actions in the coming days.

“Like any substance abuser, the Arroyo Regime will stop at nothing to get what it wants. It’s time the people used the same therapy used on previous ‘power addicts’ like Marcos and Erap.”###